Remarks

Remarks by Gisele Bündchen, UNEP GoodWill Ambassador, at the Champions of the Earth Awards 2013

Thank you.

Good evening.

Your Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are back.

Back to honour some really cool people.

People who are being visionary.

People who are changing lives.

People who are super heroes in terms of the environment.

I am here because I love the environment.

I have loved the environment since I was a child, playing in the small city where I was born and raised in Brazil, where my parents taught me to care about the Earth, about its people and about its forests, rivers and all the other natural phenomena that MAKE our world WORK.

They taught me not to waste.? And I am teaching that to my children too.

After being involved for a long time with the environmental causes I?ve learned we have 2 important tools towards achieving balance, EDUCATION and COMMUNICATION. These are the keys to making productive and responsible choices that will begin to bring eco - balance to the world.

I?ve also learned that it starts with you and me.

But I know it also rests on Achim Steiner, UNEP and all the people that work for this UN agency.

If we are going to make a difference, we need all hands on deck.

That is why I am so happy to say that I have agreed to be a UNEP Goodwill Ambassador for several more years.

We need individuals, we need communities, we need the mayors of cities, we need business leaders and we need governments, ministers of the environment, Prime Ministers and Presidents to stand up and be counted.

The beauty of UNEP and the UN is that they lay it on the line ? we are wasting the very resources that make life on this planet possible. It is important to provide informational resources to people so that they can make informed decisions that will preserve the world we live in.

There is nothing that symbolizes this quite as absurdly as one issue that, in many ways, unites many of the winners here tonight.

And that is food waste and food loss?what we now call food wastage.

Like you, I am amazed and astonished that in a world where at least one out of seven people go to bed at night hungry, about ONE THIRD of all the food produced globally is lost or thrown away. In the US is 40 %.

This is UNNACEPTABLE. THIS IS IRRESPONSIBLE.

Think about all the forests, the land and all the species that are being lost for food that is never eaten?

The water that is lost could provide all the world?s homes with drinking water.

LOOK. It starts with you and me.

We can make choices in our homes, our places of work, our cities our countries.

Let?s tell the supermarkets that we can love funny shaped vegetables and fruits.

At home let?s not overdo it ? serve portions the size you are going to eat.
you do not have to serve portions the size of small battleships.

Let?s tell our governments, STOP SILLY LABELING that means loads of food is thrown away because we think it is off.

Our Champions from tonight have act someway in causes linked to food? that links to the THINK EAT SAVE: REDUCE YOUR FOODPRINT campaign which we showcased on World Environment Day this year.

All links to seven billion people, and we are all part of this: I am an advocate of composting and other anti-food waste measures?we are going to do more, WE ALL NEED TO DO MORE.

Food wastage is happening everywhere?we together can change this.

Anyone can participate by simply spreading the word where ever you can?through casual dialogue with friends and loved ones and of course through social media?

We cannot forget that our health depends on the health of our planet.

We owe future generations the chance to live in a balanced and nurtured world.

So let?s get down to the awards, let?s see what amazing people we have who are contributing to making this world a better place?a beautiful place, one that recognizes the environment as key to all our futures.

Bring on the Champions of the Earth 2013!

Thank you.

Quotes

Gisele Bündchen UNEP Goodwill Ambassador

“We are back to honour real cool people. People who are being visionary, people who are changing lives, people who are super heroes in terms of the environment”